Parents and students from two historic Catholic schools in lower Manhattan that are being shut down rallied in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral today to protest the cost-savings plan.

“I’m attempting to be a Christian, but right now I want to kill,“ said Stephanie Pinto, a trustee and former student of St. James School.

The 213 students at St. James – which opened in 1854 – are being allowed to attend nearby St. Joseph’s school as part of a merger between both parishes to save money.

The roughly 70 or so parents and teachers were also protesting the closing of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral School on Mott Street in Little Italy, which opened in 1822 and is the oldest Catholic school in the city.

They said they picked the cathedral to protest to try convincing Archbishop Timothy Dolan to block the closings. Dolan was serving mass and protesters said he did not address them.

“Improving Catholic schools can be his legacy,“ said John Scalise, a parent of a child at St. Patrick’s. “Closing St. Pat’s, a landmark, is not the way.“

St. James flaunts alumni like Alfred Smith and Jimmy Durrante while Martin Scorcesse attended St. Patrick’s.

New York Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said the decision to close both schools was made to help “preserve Catholic education for anyone who wants it.”

He pointed out that St. Patrick’s school’s enrollment had dropped to 120 students from about 600 a few years ago. Any child attending St. Patrick’s can attend another Catholic school in the city, he said.

The Archdiocese intends on letting the overcrowded Transfiguration School, a school where 80 percent of the students are Buddhist, to expand into St. James’s school building.

“A culturally diverse school is being taken over,“ said Zoraida Gonzalez, 52, who has a son at St. James. “We feel betrayed.“

Xavier Lugo, 12, a student in the seventh grade, said, “I feel devastated. I don’t want my school to close.”